1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conductive paste composition for inner electrodes and a method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic capacitor using the same, and more particularly, to a conductive paste composition for inner electrodes having excellent adhesiveness with a dielectric layer and printability, and a method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic capacitor using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, as various electronic devices have shrunk in size, electronic components mounted in electronic devices have also tended to become compact and highly functional. Following this trend, ceramic electronic components are now required to be more compact and have higher functionality than ever before.
To realize a compact and high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitor among ceramic electronic components, a thinning of a dielectric layer constituting part of the multilayer ceramic capacitor is strongly required. A thickness of a dielectric green sheet forming the dielectric layer has recently been reduced to several micrometers or less. Generally, to manufacture the dielectric green sheet, a ceramic paste is prepared first, which is comprised of a ceramic powder, a binder (an acryl-based resin, a butyral-based resin, or the like), a plasticizer (phthalate esters, glycols, adipic acid, phosphoric acid esters, or the like), and an organic solvent (toluene, MEK, acetone, or the like). Thereafter, the ceramic paste is applied to a carrier sheet (a support body made of PET or PP) using a doctor-blade method, and dried by heating.
Afterwards, a conductive paste for inner electrodes containing a metal powder, a binder, and so forth is printed on the ceramic green sheet in a predetermined pattern, and dried to thereby form an inner electrode pattern. The ceramic green sheets provided with the inner electrode layers are then laminated multiple times to thereby manufacture a ceramic laminate. Thereafter, the ceramic laminate is cut into a chip to form a green chip. Next, the green chip is subjected to a firing process, and an outer electrode is then formed thereon, thereby completing a multilayer ceramic capacitor.
The conductive paste for inner electrodes used in a related art printing method is comprised of a metal powder, an ethyl cellulose resin, and various organic additives. However, the ethyl cellulose resin may cause a delamination phenomenon from a dielectric layer during manufacturing of multilayer ceramic capacitors because the ethyl cellulose resin is poor in strength and adhesiveness.
Also, it is not only necessary to thin a dielectric layer but also to thin and smooth an inner electrode layer in order to realize a compact and high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitor.